Jose Mourinho – The Excuses and Life In the Barcelona Shadow


As Real Madrid drop two more points in the La Liga title race while Barcelona win another one and the gap now 7 points between the arch rivals and with 13 games left, Jose Mourinho dug deep into the bag of his usual excuses.

“Only one Team Wanted to Win and All that we were missing was a goal.”

When Barcelona played at the Riazor, nearly two months ago (January 8), they won 4-0. They had only 8 shots at goal as compared to Real Madrid’s 21 last night. When you’re 2-0 up at the 50th minute there’s not that much of a need to hit the gas. Messi and Villa scored twice in two minutes near the end.

“Deportivo practically didn’t touch the ball in the second half and we played against a goalkeeper and ten defenders. All that matters is the outcome, but I cannot criticize my players. One team played to win and the other worked very hard to take one point. The team that was after the point got what it wanted. I think it would have been fair had the match ended 0-1.”

I think it would have been fair if Barcelona would have knocked out Inter last season from the Champions League. Mourinho isn’t criticizing Deportivo for their lack of attacking play but decided that lack of possession merits his team a victory. In the second leg of last season’s Champions League Semi Final between Barcelona and Inter Inter had 25% of the posession with only one attempt at goal. Mourinho applauded his players for shedding blood on the pitch.

Guardiola after the match said: ” I know we’re Barça but when nine players are defending inside the opposition box it’s not easy. Sometimes attacking seems a lot harder than defending. We tried, but they defended well. We won’t be looking for excuses. Every player, every coach and every team plays how they want to and it’s not for me to judge.”

He never complains

 

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“I don’t like to speak about the referee’s performance. I don’t know if it was a hand ball because I was too far to see it. In Lyon I did see it from a distance. There was no doubt in my mind. I didn’t see this penalty as clearly. I spoke to the fourh referee about being more well-mannered with my players because he was speaking to them in a way that isn’t normal.”

I don’t think that Mourinho forgot to mention the referee every time Real Madrid don’t win. After the loss at Osasuna, Real’s second this season, Mourinho spoke about the referee despite not liking it, saying: “Barcelona don’t get treated that way.”

“I will always try to defend the interests of Real Madrid and its fans. The schedule is decided by people who know what they are doing. Playing on Sunday would have been the normal thing to do. The people who drew up the calendar knew what they were doing. People laugh behind my back, but I will continue speaking out against a situation that is clear to everyone. It is something that is impossible to deny, but that’s a whole other matter.”

I don’t understand. Four days isn’t enough for Mourinho after the match against Lyon?

A pain in his behind. Josep Guardiola

 

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Look, sometimes, well not sometimes, Barcelona get tons of love from the press. In Spain it’s more of local thing – Madrid media support Real, Catalan media support Barcelona, but the pressure Mourinho is feeling isn’t just from Spain. The La Liga is probably the second most popular league in the world these days and Real Madrid are always among the most watched team in the world. The pressure drips down from all over.

Mourinho likes to defend his players, putting himself and his words, true or not, as shields to deflect the criticism. He’s willing to take it if it keeps the players focused. Still, the 5-0 loss to Barcelona rocked him. Yes, even him. He realized the difference, right now, between the two mega-clubs. It’s not that Barcelona are that much better than Real. Real still have a chance of winning the title, especially if they beat the Messi circus when they arrive at the Bernabeu. But Barcelona are a much healthier club, at least the infrastructure and the whole system of bringing in & up players.

Mourinho knows Barcelona are the better side right now, but he can’t say it. You can’t say that Barcelona are better when you’re the head coach of Real Madrid. Juande Ramos tried that and has hardly been heard from since. A 6-2 drubbing in the Clasico also didn’t help. He got unlucky with Higuain’s injury, and brought in a wrong player (Adebayor) in my opinion. Still, complaining that your squad isn’t deep enough after spending so much money in the off season can’t help your cause with the board.

 

Who's the Boss?
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Whether it was Mourinho’s decision about the players brought in or the GM’s, Jorge Valdano, Mourinho usually reaches a peak with his team during his second season. With all the power struggles behind the scenes at Madrid, who knows if Mourinho will survive this season with the club always trigger happy about its coaches. He withstood tons of pressure during his first season in Italy but still won the league title. The next year was when it all clicked and Mourinho had the team he really wanted.

Can't keep this up forever, can they?

 

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I don’t think he’ll be able to win the La Liga this season but the Champions League is the real goal, and right now he’s in good position. He can’t play, if and when needed, like he did with Inter last season, but his side, despite the complaints, have enough talent and firepower to go all the way. I hope he does enough this season to get another year with Real. Barcelona can’t stay perfect forever and soccer, like everything else, has a cycle, even if Barcelona has Guardiola and Messi. Real Madrid will be Spanish and European champions again, and I hope Mourinho gets a chance to be the man to do it. He just needs to gain control of the crazy chase after the Catalans and focus on his own team.


37 responses to “Jose Mourinho – The Excuses and Life In the Barcelona Shadow”

  1. could this be anymore biased?And, btw, in the barcelona-inter game, thiago motta was expelled in the 28th minute, so, if mourinho hadn’t gone on the defensive against barcelona in camp nou with only 10 men, what do you think would have happened?You wanted him to play openly?And against barcelona’s type of gameplay?They would die and suffer a lot of goals, so that shows you know nothing about football, beacuse these are two different situations.This is totally biased and has no reliability whatsoever.

    • @football fan 22 This wasn’t a match report, more of an opinion post, so maybe it is a bit biased. Fact is I like Mourinho, but I think that the 5-0 in November unhinged him a bit. The excuses were always there back in the Chelsea days, but they’re getting a bit ridiculous now days. Maybe when Barcelona hit a rough patch we’ll here the same stuff from Guardiola, who knows.

  2. Well, it is clearly biased. Inter-barcelona ended 3-1 , and barcelona-Inter finished 1-0 with only 10 players from the 30th minute of the game, against a team that is considered the best in the world mourinho overpowered barcelona’s attack force with a solid defence in the secong Leg, since you only watch matches to see barcelona score and win all the time means u know nothing about tactics, defence is as important as offence, many balls hit the post in the depor-Real Madrid game, they were unlucky that’s all.

    barcelona should’ve won against INTER ? either you didnt watch the game where barcelona struggled against a well organised and solid defence, INTER dominated the field defensively because you cant attack with only 10 players against a full squad that is considered the best in the world in their home stadium (camp nou) and they had already a 3-1 win against them, get real will ya ? and get over it;
    your favourite team has lost against mourinho while he was with INTER !

    about real madrid, it hasn’t been a full season yet and they are doing very good with all these new players and manager in the squad, barcelona is a team with 5-6 years old team ( same players ), watching them playing demonstrates the stability real madrid didnt have in terms of squad and manager, so i just hope haters like you would get over the loss against INTER and focus on the present, and just wait atleast untill the next season before starting to judge the difference in performance.

    i think you would say that they should’ve won against arsenal (2-1) too. accept losing mate, and try to make articles based on facts not the feelings you have for a certain squad.

    • @Kael I think you guys are bit too touchy and ready to jump with your teeth out on the whole Biased thing. I’ll begin with the latter – I don’t know where you get the idea I think Barcelona should have won at the Emirates. Arsenal played a better second half and got a deserved win. I don’t know if it’ll be enough for them in the second leg because we all know how fragile their defense is even without too much pressure (yesterday’s Carling Cup Final). As for Mourinho – Inter – Real: There’s a subtext of criticism in every word Mourinho says. Same as Ferguson – It’s physiological warfare against the FA, referees and other teams. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. All I’m saying is that when he repeats himself, which he has this season, it gets kind of lame. I actually put my money this season on Real taking the La Liga and Champions League back in September.

  3. @gerakis100 saying “i think you would say that they should’ve won against arsenal” meant for sarcasm, anyway the point was exactly what you said, arsenal deserved to win and i am glad you didnt deny this fact. about the second leg i am pretty positive that we’re going to watch a very good match from both sides with arsenal losing afterwards, because both are playing the same style, there are no counter tactics from both sides since both Pep and Wenger are too stubborn to change their playing style for the sake of winning.

    The thing you probably missed to notice is: The mass flaming Mourinho does protects his own players from pressure, so even if it is lame at least it is protecting his team from the media, if you ever noticed; mourinho gets all the heat wherever he goes, and that’s what he really seeks.

    One more thing to add: the rest real madrid had after lyon game was three days not four, and even if it is not true what mourinho said about barcelona’s preference in schedules, it is still true that in other leagues teams have more time to rest after champions league games, and that is a fact, so what he was proposing as a change in the infrastructure of spanish football organisation is not a bad idea after all, if everyone else is enjoying this benefit why can’t they, so in other words he has a point.

    P.S. Maybe i got carried away with some criticism of what you think, but still i respect it and i like your blog.

    • @Kael Good point, maybe a change in the infrastructure of spanish football organisation is a good idea.
      Arguments and heated opinions are much appreciated here 🙂 About Mourinho – There’s no doubt about him willing to take center stage and take a bullet from the media for his players, that’s why they usually love him so. I still think he whines a bit too much, but that’s a matter of taste I guess. Thank you for your input.

  4. @kael we saw alex ferguson complaining about referees decision not to red card luiz and award a penalty..whereas barca had a clear onside messis goal dissalowed as offside, kolshieny’s foul on pedro was a clear penalty and lots of contentious decision..whether yóu take it or leave the catalonian giants(almighty Barcelona) are a bully in world football.even if they are going to play against heaven 11 they are still going to unleach their traditional 4-3-3 formation and leave the oppoising team pondering with decisions on how to play an extra man in midfield to. Contain them..I am a Man U fan but am totally defenceless when I watch Barca play…”Iisten on a single final Barca will humiliate any team..Mourinho should shut his gutters and concentrate..Barca versus Inter last they had problems cos they travelled 17 hours on train before the match…so shut you disgusting mouth, when you can’t beat them just join them before the fan space is occupied lol…In NIGERIA BARCELONA is a religion…hala viva Barca….

  5. barca, barca, barca. you get messi in the team dribbling and ref supporting the team.That’s all they are. For the life of me i can not see why people are supporting them. oh they say they play beautiful football. They’re boring. Messi scoring all the goals or making the decisive pass. There is no challenges in that barca team, when messi goes missing barca goes missing too. when they face a team that is a bit organised they can’t play, they pass pass with no purpose. the real barca is the barca of rijkaard with ronaldinho directing the show, at least there you learn some new tricks.
    Anybody will win if the ref is on their side. Remember Chelsea-Barca, the ref find a way to get barca to the final.
    This barca team is only good in spain cuz the defenders in spain are not good enough at closing down messi.
    where is the magical barcelona in the cc, they hardly win except one good game against arsenal last year a part from that i dare anyone showing me when they played a game against european opponent and people say wow barca is the team.
    Let’s face it they’re just regular team like any other who has a spectacular player.
    bring that barca team to play regularly against the likes of stoke, everton, birmimgham of the EPl where defenders put their neck out before you can kick a ball and we’ll see.
    It’s one thing to play espanyol where you pass it around and the defenders just watch you do it without following the runner and other thing to play against stoke when you are clever once you’ll think twice before redoing it the next time.
    Oh i wish to see barca play stoke. we’ll see how great they are. oh by the way let’s make them play in the winter of england at the britania stadium.

  6. @ boxis you are just being stupid…stoke and birmingham would be relegated @ the spanish league…its ovious from your definition of football you rather sound very naive…injuring world class player is your intent..FYI in the present barca team…no EPL player can unseat Xavi,Iniesta,messi,villa,puyol,pique,Alves…its a huge shame no premiership was in UEFA’s top 11…how many players were from spain? i guess you know the answer..with a makeshift defence we totally outclassed and annihilated your man united and put them in their place..EPL is just all about hype…how many EPL players have won World player of the year award pathetic or ask why England has never won any major trophy since 1963 world a time when football was played with diapers and football made of cow skin lol….EPL is pathetic just PR and media hype…or do you want to know why spain is the dominant rhetoric in world football…shut your gutters and i urge you to embrace the love of the game..Love us or hate you simply cant be us so who cares…LOL!!!!Barca is my religion!!

  7. @charles nigeria: first of all try to be subjective, arsenal played better in the second half, and they should have scored more than just two goals, so if you consider the missed and denied chances by then arsenal are still superiors in this subject.
    About barcelona’s tactics, adjusting your tactics regarding the opposing side needs more training because you’re not doing only one formation with one tactic.. possession does not always mean winning, and does not even mean deserving to win.. you can see for example the Inter-barcelona game where barcelona completed 521 passes against a 158 passes from Inter’s side, while Inter got 3 goals and barcelona had only one.
    My point is: sticking with the same tactic while you know it is not going to work means either stubbornness(stupidity) or the lack of options (incompetency) since they are trained to a single tactic and this is not good enough to compete against different football schools since you are playing in a european competition, i really enjoyed their loss against Inter last season and i enjoyed the heroic show Inter did with only 10 players in barcelona’s home stadium for more than 60 minutes.. if you can’t beat them in their own game you don’t have to join them, just try to drag them into yours, and that’s what Inter did and guess what… it worked.

    Spanish league is not better than the english league, for a simple reason, there is more competition in the english league than the spanish one, while the spanish league is a duo-poly of barcelona and real madrid, and this is because of the inequality of merchandise revenues between those two giants and other clubs .. this will only get the gap larger between those two and the other clubs in spain, every year passes it’s getting worse and worse,last year barcelona and real madrid made a record of points earned in La Liga while they got knocked out one at the semi-finals and the other at the first round in the champions league. i hope i made my point clear about this issue, so even if barcelona and real are becoming bigger money spenders every year; valencia which is 3rd is struggling to complete their new stadium since 5 years and more and playing with not even a single big-name player in the squad.

    P.S. if you really dont give a weight to tactics then i suggest you go watch charity games of Zinedine Zidane.

    • @Charles I can’t agree with you on the La Liga>Premier League. Although it’s a multi-variable and undecided science on how to decide what league is the strongest, I can’t, and most people would too, like Kael, or Kal-El (Superman fan, what can I do), that a league with two teams that are 3 goal favorites before each match can’t be the best in Europe. Barcelona and Real might be the two best clubs in the continent, but if you take the 20 Premiership teams to play against the 20 La liga teams in the same table positions, I’m pretty sure the Premier League will come out on top.

  8. @ kael i totally disagree with you on the premiership versus laliga tussle…i think the answer is very simple..i am not referring to Madrid cos for close to some years now they have not been able to make it out the quarter finals lets hope mourinho pilot them though..my issue is this i cannot deny my passion for the EPL and the competitiveness, the PR and all the hype….barcelonas passing game is enough to unsettle any team..we saw chelsea last 3 seasons go to Nou camp and was defending for 90 minutes with their only attempt being the marquez gifted back ball to drogba which he missed…the performance was highly uncharacteristic of a chelsea team i know..they were totally outplayed in every conceivable manner…a two legged game is a often tactic game i definitely agree with you…but i believe that on a one game final barca could easily humiliate any side….let me ask 1 question would chelsea put up the same performance @ camp nou against any top 4 club in the EPL…the answer is an emphatic No..No doubt the EPL in the latter years are showing their unrivalled dominance just like the italians of early 2000…..spain won both world cup and the European cup…where was England!! with all there stars they could not qualify for Euro 2008, and lost 4-1 to a very young german team..what went wrong many of them will say its tactics and keep on blaming a disallowed goal…but lets be sincere England came into the tournament huge favourites based on results they gathered from friendly matches and qualifiers..But once they met their match they lost terribly..and capello was quick to come up with a quick excuse..”Tiredness” pathetic…Barca for some few more years will be the dominant rhetoric in world football…please forgive my initial aggression no hard feelings man just spitting ma mind…..But dont you still think that if it were arsenal that put up that sort of vintage performance @ the camp nou it would definitely be seen as a very very below par performance by the catalonian giants…Messi was so selish on two clear occassions..if i were wenger i should try coming up with a strategy cos if they play like that @ the camp nou..it would certainly turn a goal feast..i will be back here on tuesday..peace!!!

  9. @ Paul **but if you take the 20 Premiership teams to play against the 20 La liga teams in the same table positions**, I’m pretty sure the Premier League will come out on top??? we all know Europa league comprises of mediocre teams please when was the last time an English team got to the final? and was the last time an English team won the trophy? you will immidiately delete that phrase when you find out the answer to those two questions !! The English press has too much hype and that was why beckam was hyped to the status of a super star!! In every good game liverpool has its all about Gerald..If rooney scores then he becomes the best striker in the continent…LOL…that last season incident of John terry and Wayne Bridge just got too much media presence cos its England…we are all aware that their issue is almost an obsession in modern world with players like Totti i remember clearly laughing off the incident and termed them unserious, you can now imagine what made news just like the american pastor that threatened to burn a koran. stories like that are of low essence i hope you agree with me!! The hype they bring to the EPL for me discredits the entire system…i keep wondering if Lionel Messi and C. Ronaldo were English.. They would have been turned into GODS by the press….i hope u understand my side of the divide…BARCA IS MY RELIGION>>>>

    • @Charles First of all, I really enjoy your comments mate… You don’t seem to ever be tired of punching that keyboard 😉
      Putting the Europa League into the equation certainly hurts the Premier League in terms of strongest league in Europe, no doubt. About British hype, what can you do. I think it has a lot to do with language as well. The Brits still have a big influence on many things besides sports media. Be it historical standing or just the fact that English is easier to transmit across the world as it is probably the closest thing to a universal language.

  10. @Charles what i meant was: even if barcelona is getting stronger, and real madrid aswell; all other La Liga teams are getting weaker, this means you are going to see barcelona and real madrid finishing the season with 20-30 points difference from the third runner which is not that exciting to watch.
    it’s kind of silly to see valencia who are in the third place losing in the mestalla against both barcelona and real and barely creating any decent chances on the opposition.

    “In a one game final barca could easily humiliate any side” i remember their game against chelsea when Drogba had 4 chances with only the keeper to beat, and failed to make even a single goal out of them.

    “barcelona’s passing game is enough to unsettle any team” you know; arsenal have the same passing game and style barcelona use, and they did not humiliate any of the premier league contenders, and always lost to chelsea’s physical power.

    *Some examples that might help you understand my point of view:-

    rubin kazan overpowered barcelona’s passing game when their coach Kurban Berdyev noticed that Xavi and Andrés Iniesta – key players in the team – almost never drop back to their own penalty box. This style of play in the midfield creates free space for shots from the middle range so he ordered his midfielders to shoot on sight, and they won the game. (2-1)

    Quique Sánchez Flores, whose Atlético Madrid side beat them 2-1 kept his team’s shape short and narrow to make it hard for Barcelona to find players between the lines, which is what they do so well and what most causes trouble to the other side. so they ensured there were no gaps there for barcelona to exploit, and they won as well. this goes aswell with sevilla (spanish cup) and herculès(La Liga).

    Internazionale won with the largest goal difference (3-1) by nearly the same tactic, and lost 5-0 when he tried to outplay them in their own game.

    So, going to the conclusion that with passing and possession they can unsettle any team of whatever tactic implied is not always true, actually it is not true at all, and if the examples i mentioned do not prove me right, then they atleast do prove you wrong.

    P.S.
    I would have agreed with you if you have said “with the right tactics you can unsettle any team” which is true.

  11. recent post edit:

    – Mourinho with Internazionale won with the largest goal difference (3-1) by applying nearly the same
    tactic, and lost 5-0 when he tried to outplay them in their own game.

  12. @peter.. no doubt the EPL is very competitive but i think the two top laliga teams are just so good for the rest of them…..it explains why the both teams are where they are..they have also been able to replicate the same form in Europe too..in the champions league Real madrid is averaging 3 goals per game in both home and away league matches, why barca averages 3 goals per game….i hope this explains some point………………Arsenal have lost virtually all their away games in the CL…tottenham have not won any away game so far…we all know why they defeated inter…man united won all there 3 away games and drew 2 out of their 3 home games..chelsea too…i expect you to judge this standing!! gracias…

  13. @ kael i totally agree with you on the first line of your thread…barca are runnaway league leaders as far as la liga is concerned this season…..

    i disagree with your second line the game with chelsea was played at stamford bridge.. indeed bad refeering cost chelsea the game….

    your example thus illustrates barca has weaknesses no doubt…but what vexes me much is the criticisms about barca when they are not winining…DLWWW with a single goal margin and everybody is complaining about a dip in form…Every team has weaknesses…Messi doesnt score in 2 games then he is not clicking..

    what about Man U’s ..very dour performance with Marseille with only 2 very weak shots on goal for 90 mins..coupled with their two successive league defeats to liverpool and chelsea….with the two clubs not enjoying the best of seasons so far!! not getting enoough media attention!!

    AS for their passing game that is their trademark….and often the main reason why barca keepers dont get troubled often.cos you will have to posess the ball before you can create any meaningful chance.

    ***Mourinho with Internazionale won with the largest goal difference (3-1) by applying nearly the same tactic, and lost 5-0 when he tried to outplay them in their own game*** i will DISAGREE with you on this point a thousand times….When an italian club defends for 90mins its termed “master class” but what happens when you see an English team defending in such fashion or to a large extent a spanish club?Exactly what chelsea did few seasons back…..prior to the elclassico madrid were in terrific form, they approached the game with same mentality cos they want to win beautifully(remember mourinho was advised to play an extra man in midfield, he later made the switch in the second half. he ignored him and it cost him badly..Inter on a bad would certainly not loose 5-0 to Barcelona.)…and what happened..They were visibly dissected cos they believe they cant throw men behind the ball just like inter did!! the trio of xavi, iniesta , bosquets were amazing to watch, surprised rooney made a comment afer the match that spunned criticisms from man u fans **Barca sets standard for world football*. Kael have you often wondered why it took germany 41minutes to commit the first foul….or portugal even with ronaldo managed only 4 long distance shots for 90mins or why Holland were very rough in the final to distort the spanish passing game….Think again man….

    The EPL top teams are evenly matched thats the reason for the close calls..what happens when Barca switch sides with Man U?..The EPL no doubt is more competitive cos of my above reasons…IF barca were to be in the EPL nothing will still change!! Lets give honour to whom honour is due…This Barca team is indeed the best side in world football in my opinion!! and i believe lots of dudes out there will rightly agree..Gracias!!

  14. @ kael and peter i promised you guys i was gonna return here after the match..A whole arsenal team chasing shadows and not managing a shot on target..pathetic!!!..what else can i say…keep up the comparison, the truth is we know who the best really are..goodbye peeps!! hope i dont hangover cos tomorrow is work…ROFLOL

  15. i find it odd to always see barcelona in the second leg playing against 10 players 🙂
    chelsea, Inter and now arsenal .. i wonder who would be next.

  16. @charles
    “When an italian club defends for 90mins its termed ‘master class’ ”

    I know it’s useless to discuss this matter with a barcelona fan, because when internazionale played a defending game after the “oscar winner” sergio busquets got motta expelled in the 30th minute of the game, while having a 3-1 win in their pocket and playing against the favourites to win the champions league it was kinda wise to defend, and hold on to your home win.

    Mourinho’s formation was 4-2-3-1 since the start of the game and he wanted to win even at camp nou, but referee’s fault and sergio’s silly acting destroyed the game .. so instead of blaming inter because they defended their win, you should blame both the referee and sergio busquets for preventing you from watching barcelona losing again in their own stadium 🙂

    anyway passing style that barcelona implies is not the only beautiful style of football, it is one of the styles but in the end it depends on the taste of the observer and the circumstances that surrounds the match . . . so,defending is actually eye-catching if it is done with perfection against an excellent attacking squad.

  17. @keal you seem rather positional in your arguments…what do you still have to say about the embarrassing Arsenal’s performance against barca…Liverpool and Mancity loosing against a mediocre braga & dynamo kiev respectively..They claim to be the best..hmmnnnn!!!

  18. Arsenal cannot reach barca’s level, that’s for sure… neither english nor spanish club can match barcelona’s level, that’s for sure, but expelling a player who has done nothing but shooting to a target 1 sec after offside whistle was not that good call, we could’ve watched a more deserved win from barcelona’s side against a full squad rather than watching them winning against 10.. and that happened more than once.. which makes me wonder that’s all.

    Man City lacks european experience, and having Mario Ballotelli in the squad cost them a lot this season, he is causing losses more than contributing in wins.

    Liverpool have had a hard and unstable season with all the managers and property changes.

    Struggling in a single season doesn’s deny the fact that it’s a great club, barcelona finished sixth in 2002-2003 season that didn’t mean it is a bad club, it only meant they had a bad season, notice the difference and judge after.

  19. @kael for once i agree totally with you..So whats your prediction on the quarter final draws!!

  20. i would love to see real madrid face barcelona in the champions league… this will allow us to watch more real madrid barcelona encounters than any other season, i can’t wait to know how many losses barcelona would do to real madrid before Mourinho figures out something and turn into winning, and when he will be able to do that, i guess in their most important encounter, which will be the champions league one, since barcelona would always imply the same philosophy and play-style then real madrid would be the interesting side to watch (tactically).

  21. @ kael i hope they all make it very entertaining..am not writing off shaktar though cos lately their brazilian trio play exquisite football.They have been sending signals to barcelona with emphatic wins in the league..Hope we go through..

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